Fabula
Object
Object

Barbara's Initial Anachronistic Attire (Prisoner's Ragged Garments)

Clothing Barbara is wearing upon capture by the Saracens, consisting of ragged, anachronistic garments that mark her as an outsider and trigger her initial classification as a prisoner. These are her own clothes from the TARDIS era, not provided by any character in the episode.
1 appearances

Purpose

personal attire

Significance

Serves as a visual clue to Barbara's unfamiliar background, raising doubts that undermine protective deceptions and escalate her danger in captivity.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

1 moments
S2E22 · The Lion
El Akir reclassifies Barbara as prisoner

Barbara’s strange clothing draws attention and suspicion from El Akir, who questions her identity and origins. The garments, unfamiliar to the Saracens, serve as a visual cue that marks her as an outsider—neither a typical prisoner nor a noblewoman. This anomaly becomes a point of contention, as des Preaux’s claim that she is Princess Joanna is undermined by her unusual attire. The clothing thus plays a dual role: it is both a liability (exposing her as a fraud) and a potential asset (sparking curiosity or intrigue among her captors, particularly Saphadin).

Before: Worn by Barbara, slightly disheveled from her capture and captivity. The clothing is distinctively out of place in the 12th-century Crusader context, drawing unwanted attention.
After: Remains on Barbara, now framed as part of her 'prisoner' identity rather than a royal one. Its strangeness is acknowledged but not fully explained, leaving her captors to speculate about her true origins.
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